Jeff Bridges Says He Was 'Pretty Close to Dying' from COVID While in Chemo for Cancer

Jeff Bridges has a lot to celebrate these days. He has a new grandson, a new puppy, a new show and will be celebrating his 45th wedding anniversary to wife Susan on June 5. But these days, the Oscar winner is simply grateful to be alive after he recently survived non-Hodgkin lymphoma (a cancer of the lymphatic system) and nearly died of COVID.

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, Bridges, 72, opens up about his harrowing year and a half that he now calls "a bizarre dream." It began while he was doing exercises one morning at home and felt something unusual in his stomach. He went to the doctor and was shocked by what they discovered. "I had a 12-by-9-in. tumor in my body. Like a child in my body. It didn't hurt or anything," he says.

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The Big Lebowski star was diagnosed with cancer and quickly began chemotherapy by infusion, followed by oral chemo. Everything seemed to be working and the tumor began to shrink. "They got a cocktail that worked, and oh man it worked fast. That thing just imploded," says Bridges.

Jeff Lipsky

But in January 2021 his health took a turn for the worse when he contracted COVID (the vaccine wasn't yet available). The chemo treatment had weakened his immune system and the virus hit him hard.

"I had no defenses. That's what chemo does — it strips you of all your immune system. I had nothing to fight it," he says. "COVID made my cancer look like nothing."

He spent almost five months in the hospital where he was in extreme pain and couldn't roll over in bed without calling the nurse to help him with oxygen. "I was pretty close to dying. The doctors kept telling me, 'Jeff, you've got to fight. You're not fighting.' I was in surrender mode. I was ready to go. I was dancing with my mortality," he says.

Jeff Lipsky

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Luckily, Bridges began to see improvements after the medical team gave him convalescent plasma (a therapy that uses blood from people who've recovered from an illness to help others recover.)

"I started taking baby steps," says Bridges. Each day brought more strength and more hope. He began working with a physical therapist three times a week.

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Bridges is now in remission and thrilled to be back at work on his upcoming drama, The Old Man, costarring John Lithgow and Amy Brenneman. "As the show started getting into shape, I said, 'Oh, we are coming up with something really cool here,' " says Bridges.

He's also happy to be able to continue his philanthropic work with the nonprofit organizations No Kid Hungry and the Amazon Conservation Team as well as helping create guitars using sustainable wood with Breedlove Guitars.

RELATED: Jeff Bridges Shares Health Update and a Photo as He Undergoes Cancer Treatment

But his biggest joy comes from spending time with his wife and their three daughters and three grandkids — whom he says he appreciates even more after his harrowing health crisis.

"Who would say, 'I'd love some cancer and give me a dose of COVID? But my ability to receive all the love and give it was just heightened," he says. "Everything was turned up in the most beautiful way."

The Old Man airs June 16 on FX